Lady Chargers fall short of TCAF state championship

Published 7:39 pm, Saturday, October 22, 2011

Claire Heck/Special the MRTTrinity junior Ellie Hewett prepares to serve on Saturday during the TCAF state championship match in Arlington.

Claire Heck/Special the MRTTrinity junior Ellie Hewett prepares to serve on Saturday during the TCAF state championship match in Arlington.

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Trinity volleyball coach Jeff Young dons a blue wig on Saturday during the Lady Chargers' TCAF state championship match in Arlington.

Trinity volleyball coach Jeff Young dons a blue wig on Saturday during the Lady Chargers' TCAF state championship match in Arlington.

Lady Chargers fall short of TCAF state championship

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ARLINGTON — Players and coaches on the Trinity volleyball team knew that Crowley Nazarene Christian Academy would likely be one of the best defensive teams it has played all year, and was prepared for the long rallies that would likely come.

Trinity, though, struggled to come up with the run of points it needed along with a big kill or two in the third and fourth game as the Lions beat the Lady Chargers, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22 in the Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship Division I volleyball final.

Trinity finishes its season at 24-12 and will head to TAPPS without winning an elusive TCAF title, while Nazarene won its third straight championship.

“We had to play our best because they were picking up everything,” said Trinity junior setter Sarah Heck, who had 29 assists along with four kills in the match. “We were both making mistakes, and we had to try our hardest to put the ball down. The unforced errors were the difference, but we played great, and I’m really proud of our team. I’m not really disappointed at all.”

From the early stages of the match, it was apparent that the team that was able to keep play going and not make errors would have the advantage. Nazarene Christian held off a late Trinity rally in the opening game when the Lions were up 17-12 at one point, but Trinity battled back to make the score 19-18.

But Nazarene Christian scored the next five points as the Chargers had two errors, and the game ended when Charity Shonamon laid down one of her game-high 20 kills.

“All year long that’s one of our strengths (is defense),” Nazarene Christian coach Steve Shonamon said. “We like to think we make less errors than our opponent and in doing so in a close match like this, it’ll make the difference.”

Trinity gained some momentum in the second game by building a 16-12 lead only to see it go away but then regained it for good at 23-20 when Ashley Stroup had two blocks and a kill, with Ellie Hewett adding a kill during a four-point run.

Trinity closed the match with a combined block from Stroup and Hewett, and Olivia Fryt laid down a kill.

Nazarene regained control in the third game by building a 20-12 lead at one point, and never allowing Trinity to close to within less than six points.

The Chargers had a chance to even the match in the fourth game after battling back from an early deficit to tie the game and even took the lead on a Fryt ace at 17-16.

Trinity had four straight unforced errors that allowed Nazarene to take the lead at 20-17, but the Lady Chargers battled back to tie it at 20 thanks to a Lion error and two Heck tips.

But Nazarene’s sister combo of Charity Shonamon and Makayla Shonamon helped the Lions close out the match as the two combined for three kills and a block to clinch the match.

Meanwhile, Trinity had trouble finding some consistent offense in the fourth game’s final stages as Charity Shonamon clinched the match with her third block.

“I knew they were just going to come back, and I knew it was going to be a battle,” Trinity coach Ann Stroup said. “I thought we had our moment in that fourth game and I thought we were going to win it. But they never quit either. We had some opportunities, but we just could never get the ball on the floor.”

“It was intense, and our girls never quit. They kept fighting, and I couldn’t be prouder.

Hewett led the Lady Chargers with 10 kills while Farish and Ashley Stroup each had eight in the loss.

“It’s tough, but we worked really hard, and we had a great time,” Heck said. “We have a great team, and it’s rewarding to get this far, and we are not disappointed.”